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2012 Relay for Life - Celebrate, Remember, Fight Back!

Relay for Life is back and this year Leech & Partners are taking part. The weekend of the 24th - 25th of March will see the Ashburton Showgrounds play host to over 60 teams. They participate with the aim to raise money for the Cancer Society to help minimize the impact of cancer in our community.

Leech & Partners have decided to match every dollar raised through the fundraising efforts of our staff. If you would like to make a donation to our team and this wonderful cause, please make a deposit into bank account 02 0836 0065605 00.

For any questions, please contact Rachel Scott.

Thank you very much for your support!

New ACC rates agreed by Cabinet

The ACC levy rates for 2012-13 have been agreed by Cabinet to be passed into legislation during the first quarter of 2012.

The earners' levy has been set at $1.70 (GST inclusive), which is down from $2.04 previously. The minimum liable earnings for self-employed workers has increased from $26,520 to $27,040.

The maximum liable earnings will increase for:

• Self-employed people under the Work and Earners' Account from $110,018 to $111,669
• Employees, private domestic workers and earners other than self-employed under the Work and Earners' Account from $111,669 to $113,768
• Employees and private domestic workers for calculating the residual portion fo the Work Account from $110,018 to $111,669

Minimum wage increase - striking a balance between protecting workers and ensuring jobs are not lost

The Government announced on the 8th February 2012 that the minimum wage will increase to $13.50 an hour. This is an increase of $0.50 which will come into effect on April 1 2012.

The training and new entrant minimum wage has also increased to $10.80 an hour.

Prime Minister John Key has said that the Government is trying to get the balance right with the minimum wage, 'between making sure that people can feed their children and look after their families and themselves and also ensure that they can keep their job'.

The change will amount to another $1,000 a year for a person working fulltime on the minimum wage.

Central Plains Irrigation Scheme - ever closer to 'getting bulldozers on site'

First and foremost, what is it? The Scheme, which was first mooted in 2000, will utilise run of river water from both the Rakaia and Waimakariri Rivers. It lies entirely within the Selwyn District, sitting between the Southern Alps to the west, and SH1 and the Waimakariri and Rakaia Rivers. The irrigation scheme is designed to cater for 60,000ha, with potential to irrigate up to 80,000ha if more water is available. The rivers will be linked by a 56km headrace canal, which runs around the foothills and will channel water, probably via a piped gravity system, through 500km of reticulation.

The major benefit of this scheme is the huge increase in productivity. Irrigated farmland, on average, generates three times the production of an equivalent area farmed under dry land systems.

With the election of three new board members, the skills and background knowledge of board members has been further strengthened. Construction is likely to begin once the final touches have been administered to resource consent. The success of this scheme is based on securing funding, ensuring access to a reliable water source and the economical land and construction prices.

The final design is currently being refined to establish costs and a staging programme is being developed. Stage 1 would cover areas between 5,000ha and 20,000ha of the main scheme.

We will endeavour to keepyou updated on the progress of this scheme as it takes shape.

Becoming a Chartered Accountant? The pathway is now changing

From January 2013, the new Chartered Accountants Program will come into effect. This will change the structure of study and requirements for qualification.

Following a three year academic component, provisional members of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA) will complete the new program which involves four technical modules and a capstone module. The new program is intended to be completed over three years while completing practical experience. It is planned that students will complete two technical modules per year with the capstone module in the third year. The academic requirements are common across both Australia and New Zealand.

The final year for which the current PAS/PCE will be offered is 2015. This will allow for current students and provisional members to qualify using either method.

Please email with the subject 'new CA pathway' for more information.

What to remember when preparing andfiling your Annual Return with IRD

Avoid rework and save your valuable time by ensuring you:

• Use the correct IRD number, tax type and period end date
• Add the right information for the period you're filing for
• Record the period end date, not the due date or payment date (if filing electronically)
• File all the pages of your return
• Do a final check to ensure everything is correct beforepressingthe'send' button

Leech & Partners payroll service

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